Which older used HP Probook/ Elitebook is better?

Hello! I'm looking at some older HP notebooks that are on ebay that are reasonable and was wondering which of these would be of better quality? I'm looking at some that are less than $350 and what I will be using it for is Web browsing, flash videos[youtube] and listening to music[ mostly light tasks]. Ive had thinkpads that is why I'm sticking with business class notebooks over consumer brands is the durability factor. I do some travel, so durability is key. So I'm going to throw a few models out there so you can tell me what you think and any others you can think of, I'm open for any opinions. Here's a few, 8510P, 6910P, 4520S, 2510P and 6715B. Screen sizes anywhere from 12 to 15 inches. I would throw some specs. out there, but my post is about too long now, so any opinions on any of these or any others you may think of will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Upgradeability would be nice as well.

 

A 2530P can be had for < $350 on ebay, 2510P can be had for < $180. Both have an overclocking option.

Functionality: 2530P > 2510P, especially since it uses SATA rather than PATA, has 2xRAM slots and expresscard.
Cost: 2530P > 2510P. Could have a 2510P + 60GB ZIF SSD for the price of a 2530P.

Both are extensively covered in their respective User lounges http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...litebook-2530p-owners-lounge.html#post5193442 and http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...s/352887-2510p-owners-lounge.html#post4518853.

 

Thanks Nando! I will check those out. Any others out there?

 

i love my 5310m... check out its thread for more info. its 13" and very lightweight. battery life is pretty good considering how slim the laptop/battery is. if you don't need an optical drive, i would say go for it. also, i've the su2300 version and is decent enough for everyday use. they also come with something like su9400 or sp9300 not sure. also, i got it for $400 shipped from hp outlet direct almost 6-8 months ago

 

For travel, I'd indeed check either the 2530p or the 5310m. They'll be at the higher end of your price range or slightly above though.

The probook 4520s is a decent machine, but it's big and heavy compared to those two.

The **10p generation is getting old... you'll probably have to buy a new battery to have any meaningful battery life if you get a 6910p.

 

Another vote for 2530p, very good computer.

I would avoid the 6715B, it's got AMD processor, they've never been great in laptops.

8510p is a big computer, 15" so might be a bit heavy for travling?

I think the 6930p is much better built than the 6910p after repairng a few., the performance is about the same between the two.

 

+1 Excellent build quality portability, feel. Also has a trackpoint.

I've missed mine a lot since I sold it. I think I'll get a 2540p when the price goes down to $400. Maybe if I disable turboboost I can get the core 2 duos excellent battery life. This current generation (sandy bridge) belongs to the thinkpad x220.

 

Wow thanks for all the replies! I'm kinda liking the 2530p and also the 5310m. Do these have 2.5 or 1.8 inch hard drives?

 

2530P has two possible drive configurations:

- 1.8" sata SSD/HDD + optical drive
- 2.5" sata SSD/HDD via optical bay caddy (no optical drive).

5310M uses a 2.5" SSD/HDD.

If you are looking at a 2.5" drive setup without an optical drive then also consider the 12" HP 25x0P competitor: a 12" Lenovo X200/X201. It happens to be lighter and thinner. The SB version, a 12.5" Lenovo X220 can do a mSATA SSD + 7mm 2.5" HDD setup and has been been spotted for < US$700 with coupons.

 

Thanks so much Nando. You have been a great help as well as all you others.
Thanks

 

in my 2530p I had 1.8" SSD and 2.5" big drive for data.

 

8510p gets my vote. I have its workstation predecessor, the nw8440, which has served me well for over 4 years. All the juniors at my college have 8510w's (the workstation version of the 8510p) and they're quite solid as well (though the keyboard isn't as good as on the older nw8440/nc8430).

The 6910p is also good model if the 8510p is too big for you. The 2510p is even smaller and has excellent battery life (assuming new batteries) but it lacks power, uses a 1.8" hard drive, and doesn't use the same docks as the other models.

There's no reason to get the 4520s when you've listed the 6715b (the 6715b has better build quality, a 16:10 screen, and a dock connector), yet there's no reason to get the 6715b when you've listed the 8510p (the 8510p has more power, yet is thinner and lighter than the 6715b). The only exception is if the 8510p is significantly more expensive, which, given the age of these notebooks, is something I highly doubt.

 

Thanks Teraforce! You have shed some light on these models. I'm now leaning toward the 8510p or the 6910p. Thanks

 

AFAIK those models are not elitebooks nor probooks. I believe those are Hp Compaq notebooks.

 

I thought I'd add my 8440p in, cheap as chips for a not too old obsolete model. Easy to upgrade, I've dropped in 8gb RAM, an SSD and replaced the first gen dual core with an i7-840 quad. It absolutely flies and makes a great portable VM platform. It's a relatively small laptop too.

I've sold all my other laptops recently and was planning to buy one of the Sandy Bridge workstation class laptops from either Dell, Lenovo or HP. Trouble is everyone I consider seems to have issues and compromises at the moment.

My little specced up 8440p just keeps chugging away!

 

Well it's been awhile, but I went ahead and got the Compaq 6910p and so far I like it. It has a T8100 processor, 3 gigs of ram and I stuck a Hitachi 320 gig hard drive in it and installed 7 ultimate on it as well. The machine is in great cosmetic and working condition. I also received a docking station with it for $219 shipped. Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

 

Congratulations on your purchase.

The T8100-2.1 can run at 2.3Ghz using a dual-IDA bios. See sig. Also the 8710W schematic is available which shows a ICS9LPRS355 PLL. It should be possible to tme-unlock the PLL from which you can ramp up the FSB from 200 to 250Mhz or more. At 250Mhz, a dual-IDA T8100 would be running at 2.88Ghz!!.

 

Thanks Nando.
I saw the tutorial on the dual-IDA bios and I will be doing that in the future.
Thanks again.

 

Now that's a good deal with that dock connector! I hope your new 6910p serves you well! Congratulations!

 

Whoops, didn't see that you just got one.

 

Thanks everyone. It is a good machine so far and even still has almost 2 months warranty left on it. Does everything I want it to to.

 

Yea, the term Elitebook was introduced when HP rolled out magnesium cased laptops. Those are just one/two cycle earlier models that didn't have fancy name, just a number.